Running Undercover
by ramblingsdaily
Summary: To take on one of the toughest case his team has ever put their hands on, Luke Alvez has to go undercover. What he expects to find are cruel, troubling criminals. Instead, he meets a woman who not only makes him doubt himself as a human being but also what exactly does he have aside from this profession that he has poured his heart and soul into?
1. Introduction

p style="text-align: center;"strongRunning Undercover/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;"Luke Alvez is one of the top agents in his field. Not only does he rank high among his fellow colleagues but he also has a success rate of 99.9% for every case that he takes on. When a tough case falls upon his team, the BAU has no other choice but to have him go undercover. Unlike other cases, this particular case needs to have time, concrete evidence, witnesses and victims to be successfully done. Feeling challenged enough, he's more than excited to go undercover. But as the days, weeks go on - he finds the case much more complicated than he thought. And not to mention, everything he has always believed in suddenly shatters in the presence of one woman. /p  
p style="text-align: left;"Penelope Garcia isn't someone to be messed with, or so she thinks. In her line of work, she has no time to anything else but make her bosses happy. If one wrong thing occurs, it's not her life that's on the line. Those who she loves and cares for will be taken and be hurt. Regardless of her own beliefs or even real personality, she has to put up a fake persona in front of everybody. For years, she has gone through every single hurdle that has appeared. Everything was going good. Until the presence of a new stranger walks in and everything she makes sure to appear perfect suddenly shatters to him. /p 


	2. Chapter One: The Case

_After two grueling months of investigation, the FBI has released a statement on one of the most public cases in the history of the world. Due to insufficient evidence and lack of witnesses, the FBI will drop the case and work on the other cases that are in immediate help. It is not to say that the case that we've all been watching and waiting updates on isn't important but without much can do, the infamous case will take the back burner for a while. For those who don't remember, the bodies of three young children averaging the age of five to eight years ago were found deeply hidden in the woods. With their bodies tucked neatly in a blanket, most people have come up with an assumption that probably a parent has done such a cruel act. Unfortunately, the kids has nothing in common with the exception of their young age. With the public's eyes on this certain case for two months, it must've been a tough decision for the FBI to drop it. This has been Channel 7's Late News, I am your -_

"Bobby, please turn that off." Luke Alvez muttered under his breath as he took the glass of his scotch on the rocks, twirling it around. "I don't want to hear that crap."

Bobby, the bartender, sighed as he poured him more scotch. It's roughly 2 in the morning, the time he usually closes up the bar. If it wasn't for Luke sitting here right now, he would say something but this guy is his buddy of 20 years. "Bad day?"

Luke exhaled deeply. "I didn't even want to drop the case." He furrowed his eyebrows together and downed the drink in one go. "Section Chief demanded the team to let go of the case." Sometimes he wonders if people in the higher ups really care for the victims? Especially victims as young as those kids. "And now look at us, we're on the news as a disappointment. People are actually disappointed that we dropped the case. You know what's going to happen, Bobby? The case is going to cold and be forgotton for years. Those kids are going to be forgotten."

"I highly doubt that will happen especially with someone like you still in the FBI." Bobby answers. He decided to not pour anymore drinks for Luke. Knowing his buddy, the guy can only take a few more drinks before he completely goes off the wall. "Come on, go home and take a couple nights of rest." He watched his friend spend almost every second of his days working on this case. When the bodies of the kids were first found, Luke and his team were a mess. It's not like the kids were brutally murdered. They were found laying on the ground as if they were sleeping peacefully. A single gunshot wound in the back of the head. It's a hard scene to watch through the television, he can't even imagine how his best friend reacted being actually there. "I'm sure that once new evidence comes up, your team will be the first one to take care of it."

Luke could already feel a slight buzz. Standing up from the bar stool, Luke closed his eyes and yawned. "Thanks for listening."

Bobby watched as Luke carefully made his way out of the bar. Shaking his head, he grabbed the only glass on the bar counter and turned off the music the resonates throughout the whole building.

. . .

Walking into the corner store, Luke greeted the cashier with a small smile before turning straight to the alcohol section of the store. As soon as his eyes saw the last rack of can beers, he grabbed it and slowly made his way to stand in line.

"It'll be 15 dollars," the cashier said softly as he start bagging the gallon of milk and two bags of candies. As soon as he was done, he watched as the woman in front of him struggle to find cash in her purse. The cashier could only scoff at the sight of her rummaging through the bag. He could tell that she would only have a few bucks on her. "I said it'll be 15 dollars."

"I'm sorry, I swear I have the money." The woman spoke up.

Luke rubbed his eyes as he watched from behind. He could tell that the cashier was getting agitated and the people behind him were actually becoming impatient at how long she's taking at the counter. After waiting for what felt like five minutes, Luke walked up to the counter, placing the rack of canned beers next to the bag of milk and candies. "Add my beer to the total, I'll pay for it."

"I don't need you to be paying for my milk and candies."

"It's okay, it's on me." Luke replied as he placed the cash on the counter. "Keep the change. Have a goodnight, thanks." He walked out of the corner store, heading towards his car when he felt a pair of hands grab his arm.

"I'm not done talking to you!" The woman demanded to be heard as she knit her eyebrows together. "I don't appreciate you paying my stuff. I don't even know you. Do I look like a person that needs a random stranger to pay for my shit?"

Luke didn't even say anything. His eyes glanced at her up and down, the jeans she's wearing looks so worn off from constant years. "I'm sorry if I offended you but I - "

"You did offend me!" She looked at him. "Do you think just because you dress better than me makes you think that you're capable of paying for a gallon of milk?"

He scoffed. "Then pay me back $15."

"Excuse me?"

"If I did offend you so badly, I'll take the $15 back." Luke doesn't have the type of patience to be dealing with her at a time like this. Holding out his hand, he waited for a response. It's obvious that she's taken back at the fact that he asked for the money back. "Before you start acting all high and mighty, make sure that you actually have the money when you buy things." Without another word, he turned around and got into his car.

The woman stared in defeat as the stranger drove away. Clenching the bag tightly in her hands, she huffed and puffed in frustration. Checking the time on her watch, her eyes widened as she hurriedly off across the street.

. . .

Luke blinked his eyes and started at his cellphone ringing endlessly on the table. It's the third time his phone has rung. He doesn't want to pick it up. It may seem childish or even irresponsible of him for not picking up a work call but he honestly doesn't have the energy to work on a new case. He tried to sleep but all he did was toss and turn due to flashbacks of the horrific crime scenes of the young children. How can he get such a scene out? The fact that they were laid on the ground, each with blankets tucked in them. As if the UnSub killed them in a moment of rage but felt immense remorse afterwards.

He adverted his attention over to the sound of someone knocking on his door. "Crap," he can already guess who it is. Luke got up for the couch to open it. "Unit Chief."

Emily Prentiss, the Unit Chief of his particular team, stood there with a frown across her face. "Agent Alvez, I've been calling you."

"I know," he answered with a shrug. "I want to be on leave."

"All of a sudden?" Emily questioned with an eyebrow arch. "After we drop the case that you've been intensely going after?"

"I just thought it was time. I've been working my ass off for more than ten years in the FBI. I barely sleep or eat. It got me thinking that I deserve a break before I start a case that we may not also finish." Luke said as he took a sip of his coffee.

She took that as a grain of salt before setting across from him at his small dining table. "Agent Alvez, there is a reason why I've been calling you all morning."

Luke acted as if he was interested for a second just to amuse her. "I don't want to hear it."

"You might want to with this one," Emily pulled out a case file. "I need you take this case." Sliding it over to him, she checked the time on her watch. "Alone."

"You want me to work on a case alone?" That's a first. "Aren't you afraid my recklessness will destroy any progress of the case? The FBI has told him once before that he could never take upon cases alone due to his heightened emotions. He gets so involved in the cases that he was actually banned from working on cases alone. He always had to have someone working with him or the whole team has to be with him at all time during cases they work on.

Emily sighed. "Well, I couldn't think of anyone else for this position or level of importance of the case."

"What is it?" Luke asked as he opened the case. He looked at the pictures and detailed reports in confusion. "Is this a joke? It's the Woods case."

"It's not a joke, Alvez." Emily said. "We've gotten new information on the case but due to the severe public attention on the case, we had to act as if we'll be dropping the case. When in actuality, we'll work on it in secret. Gives the UnSub almost a sense of relief as if he wouldn't be caught any longer."

"How do you want me to work on this case alone?"

Emily slid over a piece of paper and a pen. "Well, like you said, you work too much. As your Unit Chief, I am demanding you to be in administrated leave from now on."

"Why do I need to be on admin - " he stopped talking once he finally understood why Emily Prentiss went the extra mile to come to his apartment and give him this. "You don't want me to work on this alone. You want me to go undercover."

"I can't think of anyone else but you. I mean, you are the only one in our team with a 99.9% successful rate for solving cases."

"I'm flattered but - "

Emily stood up. "Agent Alvez, this case is more than just the dead kids we found. We think that there are actually more kids in trouble. We think...there's a cult and we have to put an end to it before more innocent kids die." She sighed as she start to be more careful with her next words. "Aside from your excellent percentage with cases, you're also perfect due to your...history with cults."

He nodded his head. Luke didn't need to be extra smart to know what's actually going on. It's not that the FBI trusts me, it'll probably be the end of the world if they finally choose to trust him. It's the past and memories that he has locked away that they want to reopen. He's the only one that could actually go undercover in a cult because...he's been in a cult before.

. . .

"Listen up!" A middle aged man clapped his hands as he stood on the steps with a gentle smile on his face. "Breakfast will be cancelled this morning!" The sounds of people groaning made his eyes sharpened as he looked around the room. "No worries! We will have a nice lunch in a few hours! In the meantime, I want everybody in the meditation room to take a breather. You'll need to gather some energy if you're not going to eat anything for a while!" When nobody started moving, he snapped. "MOVE IT!" As soon as the room cleared, he smiled and walked over to his dearest woman. "Penelope darling, prepare the food in my room. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Penelope smiled and nod her head as she got up from her seat and walked over to the kitchen. Making sure that nobody was around, she opened the fridge to grab the hidden bowl of fruits out. In a nice set up tray, she placed it on there with a bowl of cereal and fresh milk that she got last night.

"I thought we didn't have breakfast."

Startled by the sudden voice, Penelope turned to see Gigi, an eight year old girl, standing by the kitchen doorway. "Gigi, sweetie, you're supposed to be in the meditation room."

Gigi walked over. "Penny, why do you have food?"

"It's not for me, it's for Uncle Jack."

"Why does Uncle Jack get to have breakfast but we don't?"

Penelope glanced over to the meditation room, he's going to be walking out anytime soon. Sighing, she bit her lip. Gigi is definitely at the age to start asking certain questions and she had just wish that it wasn't during this time. "Sweetie, you should go find your mommy, okay? Please go."

"I want some strawberries! We haven't had that in forever! I want some!" Gigi started leaning over to grab one when a sudden sound of someone hitting the wall caused her to jump and shake in fear. She hurriedly behind Penelope, her safe place, when things start getting scary. "I'm sorry!"

"Jack! She was just curious! It's nothing!" Penelope start defending for Gigi when Jackson was making his way over with a stern expression on his face.

"Gigi, go meditate." She didn't need to be told twice. Gigi immediately started running across the room. Jackson glared at Penelope, slamming his hands on the table. "Be faster next time. I don't want anybody to be thinking that I have more privileges than they do." Grabbing her chin and forcibly pulling her closer to him, he looked into her eyes. "Do you understand me?"

Penelope nod her head. "I'm sorry, Jacskson. I'll do better next time."

"You better. Carry that upstairs into my room and go back to the meditation room. I need a smoke." Jackson took out a box of cigarettes and walked over to the back door.

Carrying the tray in her hands, she made her way to the master bedroom. Quietly placing the tray down, Penelope looked around and checked the time. It takes him exactly two minutes to smoke one cigarette. Making her move, she rushed out of the room and looked through the dirty laundry that's in the corner of the living room. As soon as she found the two bags of candy that she had gotten last night, she took out some pieces and carefully made her way to the meditation room. Penelope sighed at the sight of the adults and kids in the room, it's almost over 20 people in this small house. The kids were huddled over at the other end of the room. With the adult's eyes closed, she walked over to the group of kids. "Shhhh..." Penelope muttered as she placed two pieces of candy for each kid.

As she settled next to them to meditate, she watched as the four kids in excitement chew their sugary candy with a small smile on her face.

. . .

Penelope sat in the living room as she fold the clothes that she just finished doing laundry on. With so many people living here, the laundry seems to have tripled. Her eyes adverted over to the closed door of the master bedroom. It's been shut for more than 45 minutes now. Trying to distract her attention, she grabbed another bundle of clothes but paused when she came across an old piece of kid's clothing. Her eyes start welling up as soon as she ran her hands across the handsewn name written on the front of the clothes.

The door opened. Jackson and Lilly walked out with bright smiles on their faces. Penelope could only wince. Lilly's pregnant right now with his child but so is the other 8 women in the house. "Penelope..."

She stopped folding and immediately stood up. "Yeah?"

"Let Lilly sleep in the other bedroom tonight, okay? She'll be giving birth soon so let's give her a room to herself for the night."

"I understand." Penelope turned her attention over to Lilly. "Come on." Making her way over to the only other bedroom in the place, she took out her ring of keys, unlocking the door. "The bed's all set. Have a goodnight, Lilly."

Lilly smiled. "I think he really likes me, Penny! Why else would he give me this bedroom! This room's always locked! But look at me, I get to - "

"I have work to do." Penelope said bitterly. "Let me know if you need anything." She walked back over to the pile of laundry to only get scowl expressions from the other women. "Don't be so upset. Maybe you'll each get the bedroom for a night when your due dates are almost here."

Maria scoffed. "I'm eight and half months into the pregnancy. I'm more due than Lilly is! I deserve to sleep on an actual bed for a night!"

She frowned. That's true, Lilly is only 5 months in. Maria and Sarah are actually the ones that are almost due to give birth. "It's Jackson's decision. I can't do anything."

"It's because she's younger than us." JJ muttered as she walked over with her two kids by her side. "Trust me." JJ has been a part of this family as close as 8 years now. She understands more than anyone else on how the system works. "Lilly's the pretty one right now."

Penelope watched as JJ held onto her oldest kid. "He should be asleep."

"Well, they're hungry and can't sleep." JJ snapped.

"We're all hungry." The women muttered as they rub their pregnant stomachs.

An immense guilt rushed through her. Penelope looked back at Jackson's bedroom. He should be sound asleep at this time right now. "Hold on." Making her way over to the kitchen cabinet, she took out the hidden crackers and canned tunas. As soon as she came back with them, the women and kids became so happy. "Just be quiet as you eat." Turning around, she took out the two bags of candies to give the kids some extra sugar in their systems. "Go ahead."

Everybody grinned so happily as they munched on the food. "Thanks."

JJ fed her kids, taking a bit of some crackers as well. She glanced over at Penelope, who was still folding the laundry. "Aren't you going to eat? I've been watching you all day and you haven't ate anything. Not even the lunch and small dinner we had earlier."

Penelope smiled as she shook her head. "I'm okay, you guys need the food more than I do." She turned to focus on the laundry. Her smile dropped as soon as she could silently hear her stomach growling. Clearing her throat so she could block the sound from the others hearing, she continued folding.

. . .

He never thought that he would actually be back into a situation like this again. Escaping a cult at such an young age, he made a promise to himself that he would never be stupid enough or be involve with anything else like cults. He knows how hard it is to recogonize what cults or what normal cults act or look like. Sometimes when he worked on old cases, if cults are brought up - he is usually removed. To think that the FBI wants him to do this, it's just adds more pressure.

But like people, each cult is different. None are ever the same. Leaders are different, how they handle situations and lead the group of confused people says a lot. Cult leaders always chooses weak minded people because they are easier to brainwash. Maybe that's how his mom got into it the first place, his mom was weak minded and always needed somebody to tell her what to do.

Looking at the ragged clothes he was wearing, he wanted to go against it so badly. The FBI thinks that this certain cult has an involvement with the dead children. Another division, the ones who are actually in charge of cult cases, says that they've kept an eye on the house for a while. But without concrete evidence or illegal doings, they can't do anything. The only thing they said is that they've seen the place take in people who looks as if they need help.

Luke cleared his throat, which is why his clothing looks like the way it is. He's gojng to be a person who can't make both ends meet and struggles to believe in himself. That's his undercover background. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door three times. It'll be simple and easy, anyone will fall for the act.

The door sounds like it's unlocking. With how he solve cases, he'll be here for a week max. He'll get a confession from the UnSub, take down the cult, help out the people inside of this place and finally be able to breathe because the dead children will have justice. This is nothing, he thought. A clean cut case, simple and easy - his eyes widened at the sight of the woman who opened the door. Shit, he thought to himself.

Penelope stared at the man in front of her in disbelief. She knit her eyebrows at how different he looks from the last time she saw him last week. It's as if he's a whole different person. "Can I help you?"

Luke wanted to curse at himself. How could this happen? In a big city like this, what kind of ironic and twist coincidence is this?

"Who's at the door?" A sound echos from faraway. Luke carefully watched as the woman's facial expression tensed up at the sound of the man's voice. That already automatically answers who's in charge of the cult. The mystery man showed up next to the woman, his eyes narrowed as he looked up and down. "Who are you?"

Trying his best to keep composure as he acts as if he never met the woman. Here goes nothing. "Please, I need your help."


	3. Chapter Two: Baby Girl

"I don't trust him." Penelope said as she leaned against the kitchen wall with her arms crossed. It has been more than 2 hours since the arrival of the sudden stranger. After a brief meeting between the two men, Jackson sent him into the meditation room with the kids. Wanting the opinions of his trusting women, he had called for her and JJ in the kitchen. "He needs to go."

Jackson looked at her. "He says he needs help and giving help is what we do."

JJ arched an eyebrow. "How'd he find this place? It's not like we have sign hanging out in front of the house."

"It's the work of God," Jackson smiled. "It's as if he knows that we needed more people!"

"More people?" JJ looked at him. "Jack, there's already 17 people living in this house! We struggle to eat throughout the day! What kind does it do for us to bring another person in this house?"

Penelope winched at the sound of JJ's voice. It's something that Jackson forbids and absolutely hates - the sound of someone talking back. In silence, she watched as Jackson made his way over to JJ and slap her across the face harshly. Shocked by the sudden struck, JJ fell from the kitchen chair and onto the floor. "What if I had the same mindset like you when I brought you in?!" Jackson bent down to be on eye level with JJ as tears welled up in her eyes. "Maybe I should've just walked past you and your two burden kids and let you live on the streets!"

"I'm sorry." JJ muttered.

Jackson fixed his shirt and sighed. "I think it's a great idea to bring another man into this house. Spencer will take a while to come back from his trip." He looked at his one and only trustee in the room. "Penny?"

"Whatever you want, Jack." Penelope replied with a small smile.

He walked over with a grin, kissing the top of the head. "Good." Jackson took out a couple of cash from his pockets. "Buy more food for the kitchen so she'll stop complaining. She acts as if I starve her or something." Without another word, Jackson walked away to continue his conversation with the new guy.

Penelope helped JJ up and frowned. "Are you okay?"

Shoving her away, JJ glared at her. "Don't act like you care."

"Jennifer..."

"Stop." JJ immediately interrupted her. "He said he would love me. He said he would take care of me and my boys! Look at us! Eating one meal a day! My kids are living off candies that you secretly buy for them! What does he do? Bring in more women to impregnate them! I'm forgotten! And now he's going to bring in a random man?"

Penelope didn't know what to say. JJ has been here longer than she ever has. It's been only 2 years for her but JJ has been with him for 4 years. She was one of Jackson's first wives. She was loved and was actually in charge of a lot of things in the house. Suddenly, Jackson's idealistic direction on families and love started changing. He became more greedy and brought in more women than JJ could handle. The last straw was his decision to make more family members and decided to have babies. Soon, JJ became more opiniated and impatient with the attention that he was giving to the other women. And before she knew it, Jackson didn't let JJ have any control of anything anymore.

In fact, he threw all the responsibility and control on Penelope and that's where she is now. Thrown into this position that makes everything her fault. "Do you want anything from the store?" She counted the cash and closed her eyes. He only gave her 20 bucks. What in the world is that going to get her?

. . .

Luke stood in the middle of the room that's called the "meditation room". There's nothing but pillows on the floor. There's clothes everywhere, clean or dirty. He sighed deeply at the sight of three young kids playing in the corner. What if there were actually six kids but the other three were the ones they found in the woods? The sound of the floor creaking made him turn around to come face to face with Jackson. During the brief conversation they had earlier, Luke could already tell what kind of person this lowlife is.

"What did you say your name was again?" Jackson asked.

"Eric." Lucas answered. After a couple of days of coming up with the perfect background and name, Eric Gomez was the best they could come up with. "Have the ladies decided if I could stay or not? I promise you that although I look like this, I can do maintenance work or help out with the house."

Jackson laughed. "We don't do anything for the house, newbie."

As expected. Luke wouldn't think of anything less than someone like him thinking that housework or whatsoever are only done by women. "I see. What can I do then?"

"For starters, you'll need to change. I'll give you the basic clothing for now. Once I get to know you better, maybe you'll get to wear the same clothes as Spencer."

"Spencer?" Luke narrowed his eyes around the building. He hasn't seen another man in this place other than this wacko. "Is he one of the husbands here?" Once he walked in, he had noticed the amount of pregnant women in this place. Exactly 8 people, 8 women who are pregnant together and living in this kind of situation. He quietly winched at the memory of his own mother flashing in his mind.

"You're clueless, aren't you?" Jackson smirked. "Spencer is my traveling guy. He makes errands for me, the ones I can't do because I'm needed here. And to answer your question, I'm the father of all the babies here. Except for those three over there, they're kids I brought in because of their mothers."

Luke turned to see the theee kids staring at him. "And they're fine with that?"

"They have no choice. I brought them in, didn't I? Those women love me and they listen very well." Jackson said proudly. "Those two kids over there," pointing over at the young boys. "Their mother is a tough one, she likes to argue back."

"I guess that doesn't run well with you."

"It doesn't." Jackson snapped his fingers to gather the attention of everybody. "Come together, my people! I have some news to share!" As soon as everybody gathered in the meditation room, a grin spread across his face. "Ladies and children, I would like to introduce you to Eric! He will be a new addition to our little family! Please welcome as you would to anyone else!"

Lilly looked at Luke. "He doesn't look homeless."

"That's because he isn't, darling." Jackson rolled his eyes. "He has a home now. I want the young kids to call him Uncle Eric and my wives to look at him as a brother-in-law."

Luke watched every single facial expressions in the room. He could make out some were excited to have him join like the kids. Others like the women are less enthusiastic about it. "Thank you so much for taking me in, this really means a lot. There were days where I struggled to eat at times or even try to make a living. Now that I have a group of people like you, I will work hard."

"What about drink?"

The question came from the blonde woman standing at the corner. Luke almost forgot about her. Crap, he thought. Pretending to not know what she's talking about, Luke smiled. "Excuse me?"

"You know, a rack of beers or something along that line?" Penelope asked.

"I haven't drank in a while," Luke answered. "In a week or so." Penelope didn't say anything afterwards. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name?"

Jackson laughed so loud that it scared the kids. Making his way over to Penelope, he put an arm around her shoulders. "Meet Penelope Garcia, she's my main lady. She handles everything in this place. If you want anything, please do tell her. She'll get it, won't you?"

Penelope nod her head. "Except beer or any kind of alcohol," she briefly showed a robotic smile towards Luke. "Those aren't allowed here."

 _She's going to be tough_ , Luke thought. What surprises him more is her eyes. Unlike every other woman in this house, she's the only one that doesn't look at Jackson with such doting eyes. He focused on the close tension between the two adults and it's almost too...off. "I have some leftover cash on me. If you would like it, i can hand it over. You guys are letting me sleep under a roof."

"I'll take it." Penelope walked over, holding out her hand. Once he placed the cash in her hand, she counted the amount. "15 dollars." How ironic, she thought to herself.

Luke cleared his throat. "I can help. The kids told me that someone was going to the store. I can help carry the bags."

Jackson looked at him curiously. "I told you we don't do such things." Taking a deep breath, he shrugged his shoulders. "For the day, I'll let you get your last moments outside. Afterwards, leave the work and constant talk of ' _helping_ ' for the women."

Luke held back certain words from escaping his mouth. If he could punch this man, he would. "Great. Who am I going with?"

Penelope started walking out of the meditation room. "Me."

. . .

Luke let the woman walk in front of him. They've spent ten minutes walking around the streets. For some reason, she didn't want to go to the corner store near the house. He tried to open his mouth to say something but nothing was coming out. If he says one thing, his undercover could be exposed. Clearly she remembers meeting him that night at the corner store. If she says one thing about him dressing in a dress shirt and jeans with a clean cut image, Jackson would freak. As thoughts were rambling on in his head, he didn't notice her stopping midway on the sidewalk. Clueless, he bumped into her accidentally. "I'm sorry."

"Did something drastic change in a week or something?"

He blinked. "What?"

She shrugged her shoulders and circled around Luke, eyeing his clothing very carefully. "Your shirt looks torn but it's definitely not the shirt you were wearing that night. And these pants...nice holes. Handmade?"

Luke clenched his teeth. "Look, I didn't want to bring this up but..."

"Who's clothes did you steal that night?" Penelope interrupted him.

Surprised by her far-fetched conclusion, Luke cleared his throat and quickly thought of something. "Some guy named Bobby. It looked really nice so I took them while he was sleeping. Took some cash out of his wallet too. That's how I got the cash for the beer and even the money for your milk and candies."

"I see," Penelope stared at the streets. "The car? What about the car?"

"Stole his car keys."

Penelope could smell the bullshit from a mile away but deciding to keep her mouth shut for the sake of Jackson, she nodded her head. "We need to get milk and cereal for the kids. We can find canned goods for the adults. Something like tuna, beans and canned fruits."

"That's not enough." Luke said. "There's 8 pregnant women back there. They need their nutrition and crabs for the babies growing inside of them."

"Here's something with our family that you may want to know since you want to join us so badly," she crossed the street not even bothering on waiting for him. "We try to make ends meet no matter what. There are some days where we don't have food and some we do."

"The kids," that's all he cares about right now. "The three young kids, they're so young. They need the right food and sunlight to grow."

"I know."

He snapped. "Do you?"

Penelope stopped walking and turned to glare at him. "I do. They go outside to play four times a week. That's enough sunlight like Jackson says."

 _There it is_ , Luke thought. The mind of someone being controlled and manipulated. "Why are we walking so far from the house? We passed by five different corner stores."

"There's a different store that I usually go on days like this."

"Days like this?" Luke decided to stop talking since she didn't seem as if she's in the mood to talk any further. After what seems like ten minutes has passed, they both arrived at what looks like a mini store that's in a tent. "This is new..."

"Olivia?" Penelope called out as she entered the tent. "It's me, Penny."

An old lady looked up from her knitting, letting out a small giggle as her eyes set on Penelope. "Penny, my sweet Penny!"

She gave the old lady a hug. "How are you this week?"

"Still alive and kicking!" Putting aside her little knitting hobby, she carefully got up from her seat. "What can I do for you today?"

"Do you have my usual?"

Luke watched as the women exchanged into a long conversation that he has no ideas what's it about. Interestingly enough, it's like a mini store in here. Everything from milk to packed meat were here. As an agent, he could tell this is 100% not legal. The old lady is practically just reselling what she bought from actual stores at a cheaper price.

As soon as Penelope got all what she needed, she gave Olivia the money. "Thank you so much."

"Always my pleasure." Putting the money away, she finally got a glimpse of the man standing behind Penelope. "Oh my, aren't you a handsome fella."

Luke blinked his eyes for a second, not knowing how to react. To be honest, he hasn't interacted much with elderly people. Aside from interrogating or saying his condolences to them during cases, he hasn't really talked to them. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Are you a friend of Penny'? Or are you..." Olivia let out a giggle, her imagination running wild even at her old age.

Penelope softly smiled at how adorable she was. "He's a nobody, don't worry about him. He's only following me around. Olivia, I'll try to come by next week again ok."

Patting her hand onto Penelope's, Olivia took out a box. Taking out a knitted scarf, she sighed. "I only open once a week and you're always the person that comes and see me. I thought of you when I knitted this. The weather's going to be freezing soon, I never see you with anything but this old sweater of yours. Take it and stay warm."

Penelope didn't know what to say. Instead she bent down to let Olivia wrap it around her neck. "Thank you..."

Luke watched the sorrowful smile on her face. Why would she have such an upset smile when receiving a gift like this? After a few more talking went by, Penelope and Luke finally left the tent. Taking the bags from her, he took a peek and surprisingly there were so much canned goods in here. It'll probably be enough for two weeks if they limit what they eat. "Who is she?"

"A woman who doesn't have anything to do." Penelope answered blankly. Her hands were lightly touching the knitted scarf around her neck. "She lost her family to a fire years ago and lives in a housing that's paid by the government. She opens up the tent once a week to just interact with people since she's always inside al the time." Penelope stopped talking and looked at him for a brief second. "But who would buy packed meat from an old lady in a tent? Nobody. I end up being her only customer."

"That's oddly nice of you." Luke mustered up. It's only been a few hours but he really can't tell how this woman is as a human being. He's been calculating eveeybody in his head since meeting them. Could she be the UnSub? Does someone like her who is close to a random old lady on the streets end up being a ruthless murderer to those three young kids in the woods? Just as they arrived at the house, Penelope halted her steps and took off the scarf. He watched as she threw it into the trash. "What are you - "

"Our clothes are inspected by Jackson every week. Any new piece of clothing aren't alllowed. I can't bring it in." Penelope answered emotionlessly.

Luke furrowed his eyebrows. "She knitted that scarf herself for you! He would've understand and - "

"No, he wouldn't."

. . .

"Uncle Eric!" The young girl rushed over to his side with a smile. "Can you play with us?"

Luke nod his head as he followed her and the other two kids into the meditation room. He had learned that their names were Gigi, Henry and Lucas - the two boys being JJ's sons and Gigi's mom is one of the pregnant women. "What do you want to play?"

"Catch!" Gigi suggested. As they gathered in the circle, she threw what looks like a newspaper bunched up into a ball towards Luke. "Yay, you caught it!"

He blinked and stared at the paper ball. Are they really using this as a ball? He looked around the room, nothing like toys or kid's activites were found here. What do these kids exactly do for fun? "Alright." He threw it towards Henry. "Dinner is almost ready, you know."

"We're not excited for dinner." Lucas shyly said. "We always eat the same thing."

Henry glared at his younger brother. "Mommy said we should be grateful with what we eat."

"But I'm getting sick of canned beans! I want candy!" Lucas complained.

"Shhhhhh!" Gigi said. "You can't say that our loud!"

Lucas didn't care, he was throwing a fit which is common for a boy his age. "I don't want canned tuna and beans! I want candy!"

"You're not allowed to have candy?"

Gigi shake her head. "Uncle Jackson thinks it's bad. We had candy yesterday because Aunt Penny gave us some. She always keeps a secret bag for us. Sometimes she gives it to us when he's not looking."

Henry frowned. "We were greedy yesterday and ate all of it. She told us to save but we were too hungry so she gave it all. Now, she doesn't have anymore."

Lucas finally broke down into tears and cried out loud. "I want candy!"

The horrified expressions that were written on Henry and Gigi's faces made Luke want to punch the wall. They were so scared to even cry or express how hungry they were. The outcry caused everybody to run into the room, worried. "What's wrong?!" JJ asked as she rushed to tend to her kid.

"Mommy! I'm hungry!"

"I know," JJ consoled him. "Penny is making dinner right now."

"No! I don't want any of that! I want candy again!" Lucas screamed.

Luke took a look at everybody as soon as the word candy escaped his mouth. They immediate froze, are they seriously scared over the word candy being said? Just as he was about say something, the heavy sounds of footsteps caused the women to tensed up. "What does that boy mean by wanting candy again?!" Jackson asked angrily. Gigi got up from the floor and immediately ran to hide behind her mom. JJ clenched onto her two boys tightly as Jackson entered the room. "IS ANYBODY GOING TO ANSWER ME?!" Absolute silence. Jackson made his way towards Lucas, gripping onto his arm tightly. "Little boy, who gave you candy?!"

"No one..." Lucas whimpered. He screamed in pain as Jackson his hold onto his arm. "You're hurting me."

"Is it your mom?!" Jackson stood up, ready to struck JJ across the face again. "You're just straight out rebelling now, aren't you?!"

JJ closed her eyes, ready for the slap. "I'm sorry."

"I gave it to them." Penelope said as she entered the room. "JJ and the others has nothing to do with it. I bought candy and hid them so I can give it to the kids when they got really hungry. I won't do it again, Jack."

Jackson looked at Penelope in disappointment. "You?"

Luke watched as JJ let out a sigh of relief before hugging her kids and stare at Penelope. Luke didn't know what to do. The agent inside of him wants to arrest this man for mental and physical abuse but he knows that the FBI will say that they want a bigger case. This Jackson fella is sending all kind of signals to Luke right now. He's outright impulsive. He definitely is his number one suspect on being the UnSub.

Penelope nod her head. "I'm sorry."

"Show me," Jackson demanded. "Show me where you would hide them." He followed Penelope to places where she would hide them. After showing him the last place, which is the kitchen cabinet, only silence filled the house. The women were clenched onto their stomachs, watching in horror to what will happen. The kids were begging their moms to save Penelope. "I want everybody to gather in the kitchen now!"

Penelope held onto her hands, waiting for a slap from him.

How could she not be scared? Luke studied Penelope's facial expressions and it seems as if she's unaffected by everything right now. Even before when things were good, she was the only unfazed or showing zero affection towards Jackson. But while outside together, all she did was do or say things that only Jackson would allow. Is she not as affectionately attached to him as the others are? Even now, most cult women would beg for mercy or suggest some favors towards the leader so they could be forgiven. Not her, she's just standing there.

"Of all people, you're the last person that I would think to disobey me like this. How could you do this to me?" Jackson asked.

"I'm sorry."

Jackson shake his head. "I'm not going to slap you." As soon as he said so, the women in the room relaxed a bit. They must feel guilty since Oenelope is only hiding the candy or other type of food for their kids. Penelope never eats and always takes care of them. It'll be a shame if she gets slapped for something that she's doing on their behalf. "That's being too kind to you. And I guess I've been way too kind or relaxed around you, Penny."

It happened so fast that Luke didn't have time to stop it. In a blink of an eye, Jackson had already have a knife in his hand and stabbed Penelope in the stomach with it. The screaming and crying that filled the room was explodingly loud.

Penelope gasped in shock as she clenched onto the knife inside of her. She looked down to see her sweater drenched in blood.

Jackson simply turned around, his eyes flaring. "This is a lesson for those who want to disobey my orders! From now on, no more outside food! I better not witness or see any of it! Do you understand me?!"

"Yes..."

Without another word, Jackson stormed into his bedroom. Not giving a care towards the woman he just stabbed.

"Penny!" Gigi cried. "Is she going to die?!"

JJ closed the kid's eyes. "We have to do something! She's going to bleed out!"

"No." One of the woman named Lilly said. "Jackson didn't give us an order to do anything. Maybe he stabbed her because she's going to be gone. Like the others."

Luke stared at Lilly. Did she just say like the others?

"Come on, we have to get the meditation room ready." Lilly said as she walked out of the kitchen.

Luke watched in surprise to see how quickly the women walked out, even at JJ who he would believe to stay and help. Being the only one in the room aside from the kids, Luke rushed over - adding pressure to the stab wound. Penelope had taken out the knife. "We need to take you to the hospital."

Shaking her head, Penelope groaned in pain. "There's a first aid kit on top of the fridge. Take it and just fix me up."

"Fix you up? This need medication attention and - "

"NEWBIE! Just bandage me up!" Penelope screamed which only caused a gush of blood to pour out. "I'll be okay!" Luke couldn't believe this. Penelope stared at the kids, giving them a weak smile. "Go play. This isn't something you guys should see."

Lucas cried. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, sweetie. Go to your mommy." Penelope said weakly.

Luke furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to tend to the others. The more focused he is to the stab wound, the longer Penelope was starting to be out of it. Just as he finished, he could see that she's about to pass out. "Hey...wake up. You need to stay awake."

"Maybe I shoukd go..." Penelope muttered softly as she smiled.

"Don't say things like that." Luke ordered.

"I should follow him...my baby..." Penelope reached out her hand. Luke watched in silent. It's as if she's sees somebody near her that he doesn't. "My baby..."

"Your baby?" Luke repeated.

Penelope let out a cry. "Let me go...I want to be with the others..."

Baby? Be with the others? Luke looked at her. "Did someone die her recently? Like two months ago?"

Penelope could feel that she's going to pass out soon. "Yes..."

"Your baby?" Luke questioned. "Like a little girl?" One of the kids that were found in the woods was a little girl.

"My baby girl..." Penelope passed out as soon as the words escape her mouth.


	4. Chapter Three: Memories

"She's still too weak to do anything," Luke mentioned toward Jackson as they sit around the kitchen table. It has only been two days since the shocking stabbing incident. He had deliberated on breaking his cover or not to send Penelope to the hospital. But with Penelope being stubborn and not wanting to go, who is she for him to expose a huge case like this? If she wants to keep lay in the middle of the living room, hardly breathing or wincing in pain every single time she moves - Luke has let her be. "I don't think it's a bright idea to ask her to clean the place."

Jackson has been complaining that the place looks like a mess. Claiming that within two days time, Spencer is bringing new people in and it has to be spotless. While Penelope is hurt, the person left in charge to take over things has been Lilly. Although pregnant for five months, Luke has never seen someone as uptight, crazy and honestly as selfish as her. In only a day, she had asked the women who weren't pregnant to do this or that for her. As a rule in the house, she has to be the one that's in charge of feeding and cooking for everybody. In just a day, she has eaten the most canned tuna. Letting only one canned tuna to be shared with the other kids and women. What does she do? Eat more than three.

"I don't want to clean it so wake Penelope up, she does it the best." Lilly claims. "Come on."

"She just started to sleep." Luke tried to reason with her.

"And?" Lily asked back rudely. "I'm in charge, wake her up."

Jackson held up his hands to stop them from arguing. "I don't want Penelope in charge again just yet." He looks at Lilly with a gentle smile. "And since she's in charge for now, if she wants Penelope to clean the place up - wake her up."

Luke was at loss of words. Standing up from the kitchen chair, he made his way across the living room and into the meditation room. He has changed the bandaging over 10 times so far and the bleeding hasn't gotten better. Jackson who claimed he has a medical degree had stitched her up last night. "Hey, kids." The three youngsters has been around her nonstop since the incident. A part of him worries for their mental health, watching someone get stabbed and bleed out like that. Yet again, they could've seen worst already and he just doesn't know it.

Lucas, who is the youngest and feels the most at fault, looks at Luke with a bitter smile. "Why isn't she up?"

"That's because she's hurt," Luke said softly. "But she has to get up now because...Uncle Jackson says so."

"Penny has to get up then," Gigi says. "She always listens to him."

Henry held onto Penelope's hand. "Sometimes she does."

"Sometimes?" Deciding that this is the best time to interrogate the kids since their mothers were in the other room, he cleared his throat. "Does Uncle Jackson get violent all the time if someone doesn't listen to him?"

"If it's something really bad," Henry quietly muttered. "Candies aren't allowed so maybe that's why it was really bad."

Luke glanced around carefully as he asked the next few questions. "What was the most violent thing he has done so far?" He watched as Lucas, Gigi and Henry glanced at each other, debating if they should say something or not. "Come on, you can tell me. Don't you trust me?"

"Aunt Penny says not to trust people too easily. It only leads to bad things." Gigi repeated the words. "She always make sure that we know that."

That's awfully an odd thing to say in a cult. Luke took a closer look at how the kids were surrounding Penelope, why does it seem like they're a lot closer to her than their own mothers? "You must really love Aunt Penny."

"We have to," Gigi muttered. "We're all she got now."

"What do you mean?" That's when Luke remembered what Penelope had muttered out before she passed out. "Did she have any family members here?"

Lucas looked at him. "We're her family."

"No," Luke bit his lower lip. "Did she have a kid? A babygirl?"

Lucas and Gigi both opened their mouth to reply when Henry, the oldest, glared at them to tell them to be quiet. "What about you? Do you have kids?"

"Uh, no." Luke replied.

"Why are you so interested in Penny?" Henry questioned.

 _This kid isn't going to be easy_ , Luke thought. "I feel bad that she's laying like this with no family members here. I just thought we could maybe call them over?"

"That's not allowed." Gigi said. "Only those who Uncle Jackson allows can step inside the house."

"I stepped inside before I was accepted in." Luke said. "Uncle Jackson was talking if I should stay or not with Penelope and JJ."

Henry looked away. "That's because from the moment Uncle Jackson saw you, he had already accepted you. He didn't care what my mom or Aunt Penny had to say." He clenched onto Penelope's hands even tighter. "It's always going to be like that."

Luke blinked his eyes. Does this kid actually know what he is a part of? Aside from Gigi and Lucas being so young and naive, they seem to really believe that this home is actually what family is. But with Henry, it's as if he hides what he knows among Jackson and the women. He pretends to be aloof but here he is, making it known that he's the oldest among the kids and he won't let anyone jeopardize anything. The agent inside of Luke is telling him that Henry knows what a cult is and he knows that it's exactly what he is a part of right now.

"Eric..." It took him a few seconds to realize that it was his name being called. Luke got up from the floor to see JJ standing by the doorway. "Can I talk to you?"

"Uh, sure." Making his way over to the corner of the room where she wants to meet, he crossed his arms. "What is it?"

"Look, I know you may think very little of me since what happened the other day." Very little? Luke practically felt betrayed due to JJ's noncare attitude towards Penelope being stabbed. He only had met her but he probably had helped her more than this house has ever. Keeping the comments to himself, he let JJ continue. "She and I have a history that no one can understand, okay? I mean, as much as I dislike her, she did get into the position because of my kids. And honestly, I rather have her in charge than Miss Over the Top Lilly."

Luke arched an eyebrow. "You're telling me this because?"

"In a few days, Spencer will be home. He will be really upset to see Lilly in charge and Penelope hurt. We have to fix this as soon as possible."

"She has a stab wound located on her torso, she's bleeding out every hour. Her face is as pale as a piece of paper. How are we supposed to fix this? The only thing we can do is try to send her to a hospital but that's obviously not allowed."

"It's not allowed, yes. But that doesn't mean we can't do it." JJ suggested.

"I'm sorry?" Luke asked back.

JJ sighed. "There's this underground clinic that Penelope sneaks us into when we get hurt. It's only reasonable for her to go to the same place."

Underground clinic? "How often does the women get hurt here?" Luke questioned.

"Don't worry about it." JJ said. "Jackson doesn't hurt us a lot if that's what you're thinking. Only sometimes when he gets really angry and can't control is emotions that he starts acting differently. He's our husband, he would never - "

Luke held up his hand to stop her talking. He has heard that speech plenty of times so far. From his mom, the other women that he used to live with when he was stuck in a cult, he doesn't need to be hearing it all over again. "You want me to take her there? How? Jackson does a meditation session every hour and expects us all to be there."

"When he's asleep." JJ said. "His always sleeps at 11PM and doesn't wake up till the next morning." She looked at him. "Wake her up around that time so you two can walk out the door, I'll tell the other women to be quiet. As soon as you're on the streets, make two left turns before walking across the street. Then, follow these instructions and you'll be at the underground clinic in no time. The doctor is familiar with us coming so late at night, he won't be confused at all. Maybe a little since the one that's hurt this time is Penelope but he will definitely help."

"How are you so sure that he would help?"

She took a deep breath. "I just do, okay?"

Looking at the piece of paper she handed him, he only nod as a response. All he can think about right now is that these women are able to leave this place. They're capable of making a run for it while their "husband" sleeps. Why don't they just take it? Run and find someplace like a shelter or an actual home to be in. Has the brainwashing really damaged everything?

. . .

"Penelope, you need to wake up." Luke quietly muttered. "Come on, we're getting you medical help."

Feeling absolutely weak and numb, she barely managed to shake her head. "No..."

"I don't have time to argue over this with you. JJ asked me to help you." Luke wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her up from the floor. The clothes that she's in is already damped in blood. They definitely need her to get real medical help, even the stitches that Jackson did is ripping apart. "Come on, chica."

JJ gasped and hold up her hand from across the living room to tell Luke to halt his actions. The sound of a door opening caused the other women look up. Taking a peek at what it was, Luke could make out that it was Lilly, waking up from the bedroom. Since becoming in charge, she also took the only bedroom to rest. "I need water, someone get me water."

Lindsay, one of the pregnant women, spoke up. "Why? You can walk into the kitchen and get your own water."

"Do it, I'm in charge. I'll be in my room waiting." Lilly said before walking back into the room.

Maria, another one of the pregnant women, stood up. "I'll get it. We have to distract her."

As soon as the coast was clear, JJ gave the ok to start moving. Luke gripped onto Penelope harder as he moved toward the door. After what seems like hours, the both of them escaped out of the building. Taking a deep breath, he glanced around. Being a FBI agent has its perks but being undercover doesn't. With no contact with his team or even Prentiss, he's left on his own until he manages to send a message. Following the piece of paper, he arrived to a small building after exactly 45 minutes.

Walking up to the front door, he knocked on it five times as instructed and waited. He could hear soemthing rustling from inside before the door slightly opened. Taking a peek, the stranger narrowed his eyes at Luke. "Sorry, I'm not buying."

"No! My name is Eric and we need your help. Someone is really badly injured and - "

"I don't know what you mean by that. I have no medical history or - " that's when the stranger noticed Penelope, barely standing upright as she leaned onto Luke for support. His eyes widened from shock as he finally opened the door wider. "Penelope?! What happened to her?!"

"She was stabbed by - "

"That asshole!" Immediately, the stranger grabbed hold of Penelope, dragging her inside into the building. "Follow me."

It was completely dark inside. As he followed the footsteps of this person he had just met, he start noticing that this person must be closed off from the outside world. Everything from take out, newspapers and windows completely blocked. Luke watched as he unlocked a door that seems to be leading into the basement. Underground, Luke finally connected what JJ meant. As soon as he stepped onto the basement, the stranger had already laid Penelope onto a table. "Is she going to be okay?"

"When was she stabbed?"

"Two days ago," Luke answered. "I tried to take care of the bandaging and Jackson said he could stitch her up - "

"That asshole made it worse! He knows nothing medic! Why would you let him to do it?!"

Luke didn't like the tone of this guy. "Look, I had no choice but to let Jackson do what he wanted to."

"You see that IV bag over there? Push it over here. She needs it." Cleaning the wound a lot better than anyone had in the last two days, he quickly took out the faulty stitches. "I'm going to stitch her properly this time, it'll definitely make the wound stop bleeding. JJ should've seen her sooner if she kept bleeding out like this."

"Who are you?" Luke questioned. Regardless of the situation, this is a new possible suspect that seems to have connections with Jackson and the women. This cult is a lot bigger than he imagined. And if this guy is living alone in a place like this, he could be the only one that had assess to bury those poor kids in the woods like that. "How do you - "

He stopped stitching and glared at Luke. "I'll answer your questions later, buddy."

. . .

Luke took a seat on probably the only cleanest seat around the living room. It's been over an hour and he still knows nothing about this stranger. If the women had a place where they could run to, why wouldn't they? It seems as if they trust this guy enough. Well, they do trust Jackson so that's a whole different story. He tapped his fingers against his leg as he wait. His eyes adverted over to the home phone that was next to him. Being undercover as a homeless guy, he couldn't bring in his cellphone. Making sure that the basement door was still closed, he took the home phone and quickly dialed.

"Hello." Prentiss's voice rang through.

Taking a deep breath, Luke couldn't help but smile. He's been around these people for only two and half days and he can't wait to be back to the bullpen and work on other cases. "It's me."

"Luke? Where are you calling from?"

"I don't have long so I'm just going to tell - " The sounds of footsteps caused him to be quiet. Dropping the phone back into the receiver, he sat back down as normal. "How is she?"

"Still sleeping," he threw some old newspapers out of the way so he could have a seat across from Luke. "What did you say your name was?"

"Eric," Luke answered. "Your name is?"

He didn't reply right away. Instead, he took out some medicine pills. "These are for Penelope. She'll need to take these two times a day. A meal before each one. Knowing how it is back there, she just needs at least a cracker in her system before she takes them."

"Who are you?"

"Derek Morgan." He finally answered.

Why does the name sound so familiar? Luke opened his mouth to say something when he noticed a doctor certificate and a better picture of how he actually looks like on the wall. "Derek Morgan..." and that's when he remembered. About five years ago, the FBI division in charge of cults narrowed down one of the most infamous ones in Virginia. Not only did the FBI manage to arrest over 50 people involved but they also caught almost 10 doctors who were helping the leader. The only reason why the FBI got hold of this cult is due to one person from the inside who became a whistleblower.

And that person is sitting right across from him right now.

"What is it?" Derek asked.

Luke has to control his facial expressions. He's undercover right now, as a homeless guy, he would have no knowledge of who Derek Morgan actually is. "Nothing. I'm just worried about coming back before Jackson wakes up."

"She'll wake up in no time. You'll be back before then. Has anyone told Spencer about this?"

"No. I haven't met him." Luke said. He's been getting more and more curious on who this Spencer guy is. The kids seem excited for him to come back and the women are oddly scared for him to come back because of what happened to Penelope. "Is he like Jackson?"

Derek scoffed. "God, no." His brief smile disappeared as if he remembered something. "Spencer is Penelope's younger brother."

That's completely new. A pair of adult siblings who end up being in a cult together? The last time Luke had heard of this was...himself. Suddenly a flash of memories returned to his mind, causing him to clenched onto the armchairs of his seat. Feeling claustrophobic, Luke cleared his throat and stood up to catch his breath.

 _Damon! Damon! Wake up! Please wake up!_ Luke shook his head harshly to let the headaches go away. _Damon!_ He gasped out loud when he felt a pair of arms touch his shoulders. "Are you okay, Eric?"

"Yeah...I get headaches sometimes." Which isn't a lie, it's just been years since Luke had experienced flashbacks like this. He has blocked those memories so hard that he practically forced himself to forget everything involved in it. "You should check up on her again. Maybe she's ready to leave."

Derek nods his head. "Hold on."

. . .

Luke laid on the floor in the corner of the living room, looking at the ceiling as he can't seem to fall asleep. After coming back from Derek's place, Penelope seems to have some colors back to her face. With proper medical care, she's able to get up and hopefully be in charge if Jackson lets her.

As he toss and turn around, Luke is afraid to shut his eyes. If he does, memories of his mom and brother will come back to haunt him. Sometimes when he looks at the kids here, it reminds him that not only was he in a cult but in actuality, he was born into it without a choice. The past he locks away so badly is being used by the FBI for this undercover job.

But who is he to blame for the memories and pain? Himself? The FBI? His mother? Or his dead brother?

The front door creaked open causing Luke to immediately sit up, ready for an attack. Did Prentiss locate the phone call he had made earlier? Has the FBI decided to just raid the cult down? The morning daylight peeked through the dark living room and in walked a man. It's as if he sensed somebody was watching him among the people sleeping in the living room because he turned and made eye contact with Luke. "Who the hell are you?"

Luke could see it. Although he looks different, it's the eyes that made it obvious. "I'm Eric, a new family member." The word family left a distaste in his mouth.

He moved in closer. "Where's my sister?" Spencer questioned as soon as he shut the front door.

Luke stood up and showed him the way towards Penelope. He watched in silent as the siblings reunite. Just as he was about to return to his little corner, he looked at the bottom of Spencer's boots. He's bringing in dirt into the building. But that's not what alarmed him. Thanks to the sunrise peeking through the glass window, it shined against Spencer's pants. _Blood_ , Luke said quietly to himself. His pants has blood splatter all over it.


End file.
